Stay Awhile
by BeccaRobinsonUSA8
Summary: "I was looking at Hannah, and she was looking at me. It was like fire and snow. I imagined a future with her, even loved the way she made me feel...My darkness may have wanted Hannah, but my heart, or at least whatever was left of it, kept wandering to Deb..." Another take of season 8. Rated T for language and possible future chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Another Dexter fanfic for you. I plan on continuing this one as well, based on the number of views/how many people want me to. For whatever reason, Hannah just really irks me, and I dislike the effect she has on Dexter. She will be in the story, as well as the rest of the characters, but I tend to take her in a more negative/ vengeful direction. So anyway, hope you enjoy!

I awake in the morning in a tangled bed of sheets and turn on my side to see Hannah's face as she sleeps beside me. Her breath is so quiet that you'd think she may be dead, but the slight up and down movement of her chest tells me she's alive. I'd almost completely forgotten what had happened last night after I'd met her at the dock and told her to stay in Miami with me. Deep down I knew that was a bad idea. She is a fugitive, after all, and wanted for murder. Not to mention the fact that my sister wants to kill her.

Still, I couldn't stand watching her go. It's annoying as hell. Years ago, I wouldn't have even blinked an eye at the thought of losing someone. It all feels so real now, so human, with Hannah. With her, I know I don't have to hide anything. I don't have to worry.

I stare at her face, soft and sweet, and I have the urge to kiss her nose when my phone starts buzzing on my bed side table.

"Dexter Morgan," I answer professionally, glancing back over at Hannah to make sure I haven't woken her up. She stirs a bit, and her lips part ever so slightly, but she remains asleep.

"It's me, dumb-ass."

"Hey Deb, sorry I didn't even look to see who it was."

"Where the hell were you last night? I tried calling...I think I have something on Hannah." Here we go again, Deb's consistency to dispose of Hannah.

"Deb, I told you she's not a threat."

"She tried to kill me twice, and she poisoned you and left you on the side of the road, I'm sure as shit she's not here to plan a fucking reunion party."

"And I told you I would take care of it," I retort, and Deb lets out a breath of exasperation.

"So did you find her?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Did. you. find. her?" She repeats herself with more emphasis.

"Yes." I can't lie to her about that. For all I know, Deb could be sending someone out right now to look for us.

"And did you take care of her? Is she leaving?"

"She was..." I trail off, not really wanting to hear my sister's response.

"Was? What the fuck does that mean? Is she still in Miami?" I don't answer, instead I look back over at Hannah, who's eyes are now starting to flutter open. "You were with her last night, weren't you? You're probably fucking helping her!"

"Deb," I say, shaking my head. Hannah sits up and stretches, looking at me in confusion.

"You know what? I don't even want to know. Every time you promise me you're going to get rid of her you turn into a fucking moron!"

"Can we-can we just talk about this later, Deb?"

"NO, we can't fucking talk about this later! Jesus, Dex, I told you you're never going to be safe with her!"

"Don't you think if she'd wanted to kill me she would have done it by now?" I question, now irritated.

"I don't fucking know, maybe she's waiting for the right moment."

"I doubt it." Deb exhales.

"Fine," she says, "you and Hannah just continue whatever the fuck you're doing. I mean I've done everything else for you, so why not this too?"

"Good," I reply, "thanks." I hang up the phone.

"Debra?" Hannah asks, getting out of bed.

"How'd you know?"

"I don't know, she's kind of hard to miss." Hannah strips down naked and puts on one of my shirts. It's long on her, but it'll have to do. I get up and shower, joining her in my kitchen. I imagine us doing this in the future. This is what my future with Hannah will feel like. Everything is so normal, so routine. She even makes me breakfast.

"It's another one of my grandma's recipes." I take a bite out of the omelette, savoring the flavor that lingers on my tongue.

"Delicious," I mumble through my chewing. She smiles and sits down on the bar stool.

"So what did your sister want?"

"Daaaaaaaaaddddddyyyyy!" Saved by the bell, I think. Harrison comes running through the front door, carrying a stuffed monkey. Jamie follows closely behind him.

"Sorry, Dexter, I should have called and told you we were coming," Jamie says as she looks at Hannah.

"It's fine," Hannah replies, "it's always good to see you." Jamie smiles at her.

"Harrison just really wanted to see his dad," she says.

I grab him under the armpits and lift him into my arms.

"Hey, buddy, whatcha got there?" I examine the stuffed animal, which looks like it's seen better days.

"A monkey," he says, "Jamie let me have him."

"Yeah, it's been boxed up in Angel's basement for years. We were just going to get rid of it, but Harrison seems to want to give it a good home." I nod and give the animal back to him.

"Are you two hungry?" Hannah asks my son and Jamie, "I make a pretty mean omelette."

"Indeed she does," I say, and she flashes her teeth at me.

"Yeah, sure!" Jamie replies, "Are you going to stay, Dexter?"

"Oh, no, I gotta get to work. Promised Masuka I'd help him today." Hannah turns on the stove beginning her second round of dinner, and I kiss Harrison on the cheek. "I'll see you later tonight."

"Bye, daddy!"

"Bye." I wave to everyone before grabbing my forensics kit, bad, and laminate, then head out the door.

Deb finds Elway sitting alone at his desk, absorbed in the computer in front of him. She wants to call off the search for Hannah- no, she doesn't want to, but she knows Dexter wants her to. She would send her ass back to jail if she could.

"Hey." Elway doesn't even look up from his computer. "Hey!" She says, louder this time. Elway's eyes snap up to meet hers, and he seems started.

"Jeez, I didn't even hear you come in."

"What the fuck are you doing, watching porn?" She questions as she takes a seat across from him.

"This may be a lot better," he smiles.

"What is it?" She asks.

"I'll give you a hint...Hannah Mckay," he states.

I find it strange that Masuka actually seems like a normal person now that he has a daughter to worry about. It's like she walked through the door, and the pervert inside him walked out. I watch as Nikki twirls around, chanting something that's apparently supposed to chase out evil spirits.

"She's pretty great, isn't she Dexterous?" Masuka lightly punches me on the shoulder.

"Uh, yeah, she seems great."

He lets out that annoying laugh he always does, and it disturbs me more when I hear Nikki do it too.

"So did you hear about Quinn?" he whispers in my ear, and I glance around.

"No?" I reply. I really don't give a fuck about him.

"He's being charged for murder, as in he's going to jail for probably the third time." What? Quinn murdering someone? He's taken bribes before, cheated his job a lot, and usually acts like an asshole, but would he really murder someone?...Okay, yeah, he probably would.

"Cassie?" I question, knowing it couldn't have been Zach.

"Yeah, it sucks balls, man because I'm the one that has to deal with that blood work," he folds his arms across his chest, "I just feel bad since it's Quinn, you know?" He definitely had a motive to kill Cassie; he wanted to bring Zach to justice. But would Quinn really try to frame Zach like that? Would he really kill to get something he wanted? I suppose most of us would...if we really wanted it.

"I could do it," I offer, "it's not like I've got much else to work on." Really I just want to get a look at that blood work before anyone else.

"Really? You'd do that?"

"Yeah, just leave it to me," I conclude, "besides, you've been doing a lot for me lately, Vince."

"Agh, thanks, you're a life saver!" More like a life taker.

He leaves me alone in my little office and joins his daughter. Finally, time for myself.

My phone begins to ring. This time, I take the extra second to glance at the screen. It's not Deb this time, it's some number I don't recognize.

"Hello?"

"Is this Dexter Morgan?" A female voice questions.

"Yes."

"This is Sarah from South Miami Hospital." My throat immediately swells up. I think the worst; Harrison's hurt, Deb did something reckless again, Hannah got herself into another sticky situation.

"Yes?"

"Your son, Harrison, is here, he's been throwing up consistently for the past hour. His body temperature is very low. You should get here as soon as you can, Mr. Morgan." I place my hand over my eyes, rubbing my temples in slow circles.

"Alright, I'll be there, what happened? Do you know what's wrong?" There's nothing for a second except for silence on the other end. "Hello?"

"We think your son may have ingested some sort of poison."


	2. Chapter 2

I manage to get Masuka to cover for me, once again, and I'm at the hospital in nearly fifteen minutes. I didn't let anyone at the station know where I'm going, figuring that would only cause for more trouble. Harrison is wearing a hospital gown covered in rocket ships, stars, and planets. He sits up in the bed, busying himself with the coloring book in front of him. He looks up when he hears me enter the room.

"Daddy!"

I ruffle his blond hair. "Hey, feeling sick, buddy?"

He nods, pointing to his stomach. I glance around the room, wondering where Jamie is, and that's when I hear the sound of someone throwing up in the bathroom adjacent to Harrison's bed. "Jamie's not feeling well either?" I'm once again replying the words the nurse had said to over the phone through my head. _We think your son my have ingested some sort of poison_. _Poison._ Why does my mind immediately go to Hannah whenever I hear that word? Because maybe that's exactly what she is. She's some how injected her way into my life, changing me. But her poisonous self doesn't kill me, it just makes me feel whole. If anything, she's like a drug. I just want to keep seeing her...But what about Harrison? Did Hannah really poison him? She's tried to kill Deb before, why not my son as well? I despise even thinking of such thoughts.

"I think I'm going to go home." Jamie comes stumbling out of the bathroom.

"Do you know what happened?" I feel bad for questioning Jamie when she's spilling her guts out, but the sooner I know the truth the better.

"I honestly don't really know, Harrison just started feeling sick after dinner. I decided to wait awhile to see if it would pass, but I ended up bringing him over here when it didn't." I look back over at Harrison, who seems to be completely un-bothered by the whole ordeal.

"Where was Hannah?" I question, dreading the answer.

"She made us dinner...and after we ate was shortly when Harrison started feeling sick..." Jamie continues to look at me, as if saying: Hannah could have had something to do with it. That's when the doctor comes in. He gives Harrison a small shot in the arm, some antibiotics to flush out his system, and then he turns to me.

"You're lucky your son got here when he did." He stands up, motioning for me to follow him outside the room. I pat Harrison on the arm and give Jamie a nod before following his lead out the door. "He may not have not survived if it'd been much longer," he finishes.

"So what exactly did he eat?"

"We found traces of Arsenic poisoning in his system. It's a common murder weapon for being so discreet yet potent...it looks as though this was no accident, Mr. Morgan." I shake my head.

"You're saying someone tried to kill my son?"

"All I'm saying is that he is very lucky to be alive...he and his nanny."

I suppose I'll never know for sure if it was Hannah, or why it was Hannah, so to speak. I'll have to confront her about it myself. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that she's innocent. She wouldn't attempt to kill Harrison. Why would she want to? Yet I was almost sure she didn't poison Deb, when indeed she had. I have to ask her myself.

Arlene Shram, Hannah's college roommate, answers her front door after she hears multiple abrupt knocks. Her children cling onto her legs, slapping and pinching each other much to their mother's disapproval. Arlene's surprised by who she sees at the door...Hannah. Her clothes are torn, blond hair wet and pressed against her head, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hannah? Wha-what are you doing here?"

"Ya-you...ha...have...to...help...me" Arlene can barely understand her through her sobs. She sticks her head out the door to make sure no one is looking, then motions to Hannah for her to come inside. Hannah obliges, and Arlene shuts the door behind them.

"Alright, both of you, go to your rooms! I've had enough of this bickering!" Arlene yells at her kids, who continue to hang onto her legs. "_Now_!" And the children do as they're told. "Hannah, I thought you were in prison..." Hannah manages to control her tears enough for her friend to understand her.

"Well I'm here now, and I need your help." Arlene starts to shake her head, knowing all to well the kind of trouble she could get in for helping aid a wanted fugitive.

"I can't, not again, I won't lose my kids again, Hannah."

"Arlene, _please..._I...I took care of the both of us in college, and now I need you to be able to return the favor!"

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"I...I did something awful."

"Hannah fucking Mckay," Deb mutters under her breath when she sees her face on the TV screen.

"Actually, she was going by the name Maggie Castener, and now she's apparently going by the name of Claire," Elway pipes in, leaning forward in his chair. "What kind of person changes their name twice?"

"A person who's a lying, murdering, piece of shit and is trying to hide from the police because they're here illegally," Deb says, flatly. She knows all too well where Hannah is. Most likely with Dexter. She imagines the two of them lying in bed together at night, talking about their future in Argentina together. It makes her sick.

"Well how would our little, blond friend feel about us bringing the U.S. Marshall Service into this mess?"

"She'd probably love that," Deb jokes, "do whatever the fuck it takes to take her down."

"Already on it," Elway says as he picks up the phone. Deb leaves him alone in his office. She takes out her phone and scrolls through the contacts, stopping at Dexter's name. The same feeling she always gets in the pit of her stomach whenever she thinks about him comes back. Why is she protecting him? Would he be doing the same thing for her if they reversed rolls? Deb knows the answer all too well. She was hurt...really, really hurt when Dexter told her he was going to be moving with Hannah. Not that Dexter would even care. He probably hadn't even noticed.

Suddenly her phones starts buzzing in her hand, scaring the shit out of her.

"Hey, I'm surprised you're actually calling me," Deb answers, "thought you were busy spending the day with Hannah."

"That's what I'm calling you about."

"What do you fucking mean?"

"I think Hannah may have poisoned Harrison...and Jamie." I wait for my sister to respond, but all I can hear is silence on the other end. "Deb?"

"Is he okay?"

"Yeah, yeah he's fine now, Jamie got him to the hospital in time. They said they found Arsenic in his system. Hannah is the only person I can think of...but, Hannah wouldn't do that..." Deb laughs.

"What the fuck do mean she wouldn't do that?! She did it to me, Dex...not that you seem to care." I can't stand when she does this, forcing me to pick a side.

"I'm going to look into it," I state, "but I need Harrison to stay with you until I can find out for sure what Hannah's up to, I don't want him to be around her."

"That's fine, he can stay with me as long as he wants. I hardly get to see him anymore."

"Thanks, Deb, I'll bring him over to your place later tonight." I hang up the phone.

All I do is get Hannah's voicemail every time I call her. She's not at my apartment, not at any of the hotel's near or around Miami. I begin to think she went to Arlene's house. After all, she was the one who helped her in her get-out-of-jail plan. She's also probably the one who's helping her now. If Hannah did indeed poison Harrison, why is she still crowding my mind 24/7? I drop my son off at Deb's, and go home only to collapse in my bed. I usually don't dream, but tonight, I'm frustrated. I dream about the night Deb walked in on me in the church, killing Travis Marshall. She no longer looks at me with devotion, she looks through me. I had the urge, in that moment, to hold her in my arms forever and tell her everything was going to be okay. The biggest lie I could probably ever tell.

I awake, once again, to find myself in the darkness of my own room. I don't know why I keep hoping Deb and mine's relationship will go back to the way it used to be...because I know it never will. I don't know why I keep hoping Hannah didn't try to kill my son...because I know all too well it had to be her. I don't why I keep hoping I can handle my double life...

because I know no one ever lives happily ever after when they pretend to be someone they're not.


	3. Chapter 3

It's been almost two weeks since she's had a beer. _Two Weeks_. Deb knows it's for the better, as she's been trying to do anything to be able to move on with her life. It's as if her murdering LaGuerta has tied a huge weight onto her ankles, and all the shit that's been happening with Dexter is just adding to that weight. She stares blankly into her fridge, and is startled when she feels two arms wrap around her legs.

"Aunt Deb, can I have pudding?!" _Holy shit_. She's not used to having a little kid running around her house.

"Well, it certainly seems like you're feeling better," she smiles at him and grants his wish by bringing a bowl of pudding out of the fridge. He sits at her kitchen table and begins eating. Deb notices Harrison's coloring book laying open on the floor and picks it up, flipping through the pages. It's full of drawings of dogs, fruits, and other random things, but she stops when she gets to the last piece of paper. It's a picture of a man, a small boy, and a blond woman. At first she's confused, but then it hits her, and she wishes it hadn't. It's a picture of Dexter, Harrison, and _Hannah_.

"Hey, Harrison, are you excited about moving to Argentina?" Deb takes the picture out of the book and sets it on the table in front of him.

"Yeah, I like being with Hannah. She's nice." _Nice? She fucking poisoned you_. But Deb doesn't dare say that.

"I bet she is," is what she says instead.

"You're nice too, Aunt Deb," the blond boy smiles, licking the remaining chocolate pudding off his lips.

"Yeah, you think so? I'm really going to miss you," she says.

"Me too." Harrison hangs his head. For what seems like the millionth time, Deb feels bad for the kid. She knows Dexter's just going to be dragging him into trouble. Harrison's still too young to be able to see any bad in Hannah...but Dexter's not.

"Come on," Deb grabs Harrison's hand, "let's go to the park."

I keep putting off the research I promised Masuka I would do on Quinn. Getting revenge for Cassie's murder, figuring out if the Brain Surgeon is still out there, helping Dr. Vogel; these all seemed like high items on my to-do list. But I'm now focusing all my attention on finding Hannah. I go straight to Arlene Shram's house, parking my car in the front and giving three taps to the door. Arlene answers, shaking. _Is she scared because she has a fugitive hiding out in her house?_

"Hi, Arlene, remember me?" She just looks at me, squinting her eyes.

"Not really..." she finally says.

"I'm Dexter Morgan, I uhh used to date Hannah."

"Ohhh, you're the asshole that turned her in, right?"

"Yes, I am that asshole," I say, "is Hannah here?" I try to catch a glimpse of the house.

"No, she's-"

"You can let him in, Arlene," I voice says behind her. I know it's Hannah, and hearing her voice doesn't make me feel content like it usually does, it makes me angry. It makes my blood boil.

Arlene steps aside and I walk through the door as she shuts it behind me. Hannah's standing there, looking miserable, and that's when I notice suitcases on the floor around her. Looks as though her and Arlene are planning on leaving...or escaping. "Can we have a minute?" Hannah asks, and Arlene nods, heading into another room.

"You have exactly _one_ minute to explain what's going on," I assert, tapping my watch.

"We're leaving," Hannah breathes, gesturing to the suitcases, "I can't-"

"Where are you going?" I demand.

"Why would I tell you that? So you can send the cops after me? I don't think so, Dexter, not again."

I can feel my pulse accelerate, the blood dripping behind my eyelids.

"I thought...I thought you and I..."

"You thought you and I what? That we were actually going to move to Argentina and start a new life together? As if I could ever do that..." She's not making any sense.

"I thought that's what you wanted..." I mumble, sounding like a lost child. Hannah exhales.

"I came back to Miami to kill you...not start over with you," she states, flatly.

"..._Kill me_?" I question, "after what I did for you?"

"What you did for me?! Dexter, I thought I had found the one person I could count on, the one person I could actually be happy with...and you ratted me out!"

"And I was willing to forgive you," I counter, "when you came back, I wasn't mad, I was glad to see you. That's the choice I made!" Hannah shakes her head.

"You chose Debra," is all she says.

"She has nothing to do with this," I utter, "and neither does _my son_, so why would you try to kill him?"

"Gee, I don't know, Dexter, maybe because you ruined my whole world, I thought it would only be fair to return the favor."

Arlene comes back into the room then and begins picking up the suitcases.

"Are you two done yet? Our plane leaves soon, Hannah." She grabs her kids and shuts the door behind her. Hannah tries to follow but instead I lunge forward at her, pinning her against the wall with my hand on her neck.

"If you ever, ever, come back here or do anything that puts my son in danger again, I will slice your throat." I let her go and head out the door before she can say anything back to me.

It's nearly two in the morning by the time I make it back to Deb's house to pick up Harrison. I needed to drive around for awhile, blow off some steam, go over all the previous events in my head.

_Hannah was using me._ Everything she told me about loving me, wanting to run away with me, was a lie. _I was being used._ Though it isn't the first time, it's different with Hannah because I truly did feel something for her.

I let myself into Deb's house and find Harrison asleep on the couch. I pull the blanket up further over his shoulders and kiss him on the head. To think I was almost ready to put him into even more danger crowds my mind. I grab the picture of me, him and Hannah off the kitchen table and toss it into the trash. It's going to be difficult having to tell Harrison we won't be going anywhere with Hannah. I'm about to sit down in the chair across from him when Deb comes into the room, rubbing her eyes.

"Where the fuck have you been?" I sigh.

"I found Hannah."

"And?"

"It's true...she tried to kill Harrison...and she was going to try to kill me too," I reveal, looking her in the eyes. Any other person would say I told you so, but not Deb.

"Jesus Christ, Dexter..."

"I know, I know," I say.

"So where the fuck is she now?"

"Leaving," I state, "her and Arlene are probably gone by now, she didn't say where they were going, though."

We just sit in silence for awhile, listening to Harrison breath as he sleeps, and then Deb finally speaks.

"I'm sorry," she says, shaking her head, "I know you really cared about her."

"It was a mistake for me to...I should have listened to you, Deb." She sighs, and her face twists into a frown.

"You know I was really fucking hurt when you told me you were moving to Argentina."

"Why didn't you tell me it bothered you?"

"Because it's not like you fucking care about how I feel," she counters, "it was always _Hannah_. Hannah this, and Hannah that. I couldn't even have a fucking conversation with you without you mentioning her...besides," she adds, "I could tell you were happy, and I didn't want to ruin that."

She's right, I had been happy with Hannah, but Deb has always been the one constant in my life. We endure. She herself had even tried to kill me once while she was confused and still dealing with what she had done, and yet I couldn't imagine my life without her.

"Deb-"

"We can talk about this in the morning," she says, getting up, "I'm fucking exhausted." I watch her as she goes back into her bedroom and closes the door. I make myself comfortable in the chair and stare up at the ceiling fan spinning around and around in circles. At a time like this, I would be thinking about Hannah. I would be looking at her, and she would be looking at me. It would be like fire and snow. I had imagined a future with her, even loved the way she made me feel. My darkness may have wanted Hannah, but my heart, or at least whatever's left of it, would always keep wandering to Deb. I long for her full acceptance, for her to need me like the way I need her. I want her to see me as the _good person_ I had always failed to be. Hannah was just here to fill that void. She was just here because I thought Deb never could be...but maybe I'm wrong about that.

_Sorry if it feels like the chapters keep getting shorter :/ I plan on picking up the pace with the story in the upcoming chapters!_


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks to those of you who reviewed :) I usually don't vent my feelings, but the past couple episodes of this season of Dexter have been disappointing to me. The season started out great (I liked the whole idea of Dexter and Deb at odds and him trying to get her back in his life. I liked the whole story with Vogel and how she helped create Dexter, and I even liked the whole Brain Surgeon story line before it became a little predictable), but once Hannah showed up I felt it went downhill from there. It's not that I'm bothered by Hannah herself, it's mostly the way Dexter acts around her that makes me angry. I feel as though Hannah should have been brought back for revenge rather than as a love interest again (considering we already saw that last season)...and I would have liked it if Miami Metro would have found out at least something about Dexter...I'm hoping there's something big that's going to happen in the last three episodes, because maybe, just maybe, that would redeem this season for me...Anyways, here's chapter 4:**

"Time to get up, fuckwad." Deb gently shakes my arm, and I stretch, trying to ignore whatever she just called me. A glance at my watch tells me it's nearly eleven. _Late for work again. Shit._ I suppose I've counted on Masuka too many times to cover for me. My eyes still have yet to come into focus, but I can at least see Deb in her kitchen making what looks to be coffee. "Want some coffee?" she asks. _Yep, coffee_.

"Sure," I respond, standing up and walking over by her, "but make it to go I have to get to work."

"Yes, your fucking majesty," she jokes and sets it down in front of me on the table.

I want to talk to her about last night, but she seems like she's in a bad mood for some reason. I contemplate asking her what's wrong, but decide against it.

"Where's Harrison?" I ask instead, trying to keep the conversation light.

"School, where the fuck do you think?" She takes a drink of her coffee then spits it out. "Shit, that's hot."

"Yeah, coffee is hot, Deb," I remark, raising an eyebrow. She glares at me, and I can almost hear a growl come out of her mouth. If looks could kill, Deb would rack up a bigger body count than me.

"I can't believe you're still lying to me," she utters, staring me in the eyes. I'm confused.

"Lie to you? What do you mean?"

"Quinn," she simply states.

"What about Quinn?"

"You think he killed Cassie...and you were fucking looking into it behind my back!"

"How...how did you know about that?"

"You got a fucking call on your phone this morning that said you got positive results back for the blood sample you sent it."

"So you were looking at _my_ phone?" I question, trying to make a point.

"Jesus, Dex, that's not what's important! The important thing is you weren't going to tell me about it, were you?" There's probably a million things I could say to calm her down. I could lie to her again, but I don't want to hurt her. I could hug her; it's been a long time since I've pulled her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her, since I've even _touched_ her. I could also be honest; state what I'm thinking.

"So...the results came back positive?" Deb stares at me, mouth halfway open, shaking her head.

"Are you even fucking listening to me?"

"Yes, Deb, I was going to tell you about Quinn, I was just waiting to get the results, I honestly...I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Let it go," she states, still looking at me.

"Let it go?" I repeat, "so let him get away with murder?"

"This is _Quinn_ we're talking about," she asserts, "not some random fucking person off the street."

"Do you still _like_ him?" I question. Deb exhales.

"No...no of course not."

"Good."

"Good? Why is that good?" she asks.

"I don't like him, and you know that...he's already been onto me twice before."

"You could do it for me..." she mumbles, "you know I left Hannah alone _for you_, asshole, you could return the favor. I just can't fucking see anything else happen to someone I care about."

Deb's done absolutely everything for me. She's put up with everything I've put her through since she's found out my secret. She's the one person who's still here...still with me. I owe her this.

"I'll tell Masuka the results came back negative," I tell her.

"Thank you."

We stand there in silence, and I completely forget I'm supposed to be getting to work. For some reason I want to stay here, with Deb. I know I've put her through so much pain. Finally I decide to bring up our conversation from last night.

"I don't know why I thought I could just leave you behind and go to Argentina," I confess, "it was...a stupid idea."

"Yeah, it was," she agrees, and then tears suddenly fill her eyes. "You have no fucking clue how...how angry...how _hurt_ I was when you told me that...to think I would have to live without you." She has to lean on the table for support, but instead I close the distance between us and pull her into me for a hug, _finally_. How many times have I held her like this and thought nothing of it? Everything was seemingly meaningless until now...when she's the only person I have left.

"I'm not going anywhere," I breathe into her hair, "I just need to know that you're not either...that you're with me...that you accept me." Deb steps back a little to look at me, but her hands remain on my arms.

"Of course I'm fucking with you...I always have been, Dex...that doesn't mean I approve of everything you do, though."

"I just want you to be okay."

"I'm never going to be okay, Dexter." I stare her in the eyes.

"Do you love me?" I ask, and it sounds ridiculous, even childlike. She laughs, and gives me a light punch in the arm, and then hugs me again, pressing her face into my shoulder.

"Yes," her face becomes serious again, "way more than what's appropriate..."

Her hands find my chest then, and make their way to the back of my neck. I can't help but shiver, and it's certainly not from the air. I half expect her to kiss me, but she doesn't. She just leans her forehead against my own, so our noses are practically touching. I rest my hands awkwardly on the small of her back, and we both exhale in unison. This is where I've always felt most comfortable; with Deb. And I know she feels the same way. Now it feels even better, with her knowing everything about me. There's no more secrets, no more hiding and _pretending_ to care, because I really do. It doesn't feel like Argentina...it feels like home.

Jamie picks up Harrison from school that afternoon. She wants to get to Joey's house before he has to go into work later tonight, so she's quick to get to his house, Harrison trailing behind her.

"Where are we?" the boy asks as Jamie taps on the door.

"Remember Joey? This is his house."

Harrison gives a small nod, and Jamie continues to knock, only to receive no answer. "Huh, that's weird," she says to no one in particular. She pulls out her phone, dials Joey's number, and can hear a faint ringing sound coming from inside. "Apparently no one answers their phone," she says to Harrison. "Stay right here, alright? I'm going to go around to the back."

To her surprise, she finds the back door unlocked, which isn't like Joey at all. She lets herself in, kicking away the dirty clothes that get in her way. She finds her way to his living room and sees him on the couch. He's laying down, still dressed in the same clothes he had on when they saw each other his morning. His mouth is open slightly, and his eyes are closed.

"Joey, I thought we were doing lunch today before you have to work," she says. He doesn't answer, and she makes her way over to the couch. "Joey, come on, you can sleep afterwards." Still no response. "Joey!" She yells his name and pulls his arm this time. He topples over and falls to the floor. Jamie screams and immediately lets go of his arm. The back of his head has been cut open, revealing the brain, but part of it is missing.

She grabs her keys off the counter and runs out the door, only to find Harrison still standing there.

"What's wrong, Jamie?" He must have heard her scream. She scoops him up in her arms and begins carrying him back to her car.

"Nothing," she reassures him. She puts Harrison in the back seat, starts the car engine, and immediately calls her brother.

The phone rings ten times before the answering machine picks up. _This is Doctor Evelyn Vogel, sorry I'm not here to take your call at the moment, please leave a message. _

"Evelyn, it's Deb...just, just call me back."

Oliver Saxon sits at Vogel's kitchen table, staring aimlessly at the phone, listening contently to Deb's voice. Vogel sits across from him, terror in her eyes.

"You're quite popular, mom," he states, staring at her, "is _she_ also working for the police?" Vogel shakes her head.

"No, she was one of my patients." Vogel knows if she answers in any way Saxon doesn't like, he could very well kill her.

"But she was working with that Quinn guy," Saxon states, a gleam in his eye.

"Debra is not a threat to you," she responds, confidently, "neither is Dexter, I will make sure of that."

"How?" he demands, slamming his hands on the table, startling her_, "how?"_

"Dexter trusts me, he'll listen to what I say." Saxon smiles.

"I also trusted you," he whispers, "and you sent me away...you tore us apart!" Vogel starts to back up her chair. "You're not leaving!" Saxon grabs her shaking hands and pins them down. "You sent me away to that hospital, they caged me like I was some kind of animal. How could you do that to me?"

Vogel looks him in the eyes, shaking her head, and his grip on her arm tightens.

"I was doing what was best for you, I was only thinking of you, you must understand that."

"You were scared."

"No, of course not, you never scared me." Saxon lets go of her arm then. He stands up and places both hands on the table, leaning forward so his face is inches from hers.

"What _are_ you afraid of, mother?" he hisses.

I stomp on the gas pedal hard enough to break it. There's a crime scene at Quinn's house, and I know that means bad news, but I'm trying to think of an excuse to give Batista for not showing up at the station earlier today.

_I fell in the shower and sprained my ankle. _No, that would require me to limp around for a week.

_My tire was flat so I had to go to the shop to get it fixed. _No, I've already used that excuse multiple times.

_Harrison had an ear infection._ Sounds good.

Deb's sitting beside me in the passenger seat. I'm not sure why she would want to come along. She hasn't said a word to me, but she has been calling Vogel multiple times.

"She's still not answering, Dex." I have to slam on the breaks when the car in front of me stops abruptly. And that's when I realize it's Jacob Elway's car.

"Maybe she's just busy," I respond, "and isn't that Jacob Elway?" I nod to the car in front of ours. There's a sign taped up to the back of his window with a picture of a blond woman on it. _Hannah._ Great, looks like he's still looking for her.

"Holy shit," Deb says, leaning forward, "yeah I think it is." Once the light turns green his car turns left and I keep going forward. "I told him I was thinking about going back to Miami Metro...but now I don't know...with this fucked up mess...and Quinn-" she trails off. "Maybe I would just be asking for more trouble."

"I think you should come back," I say, glancing over at her in the mirror. The last time I was in the car with her she tried to kill us both, but I try not to think about that. After all, she was confused at the time, she didn't know what she was doing or what she wanted. Maybe she still doesn't know what she wants. She's said some pretty interesting things to me recently. I pull into Quinn's driveway, and I put the car into park. We just sit there.

"Are you going to unlock the doors?" Deb asks, looking over at me.

"I want to ask you something," I mumble.

"What?"

"You know when you told me you...were in love with me?" I try to avoid eye contact for her own good, so I just stare straight ahead. I hear her breathing hitch, because it's a touchy subject for her.

"Yeah," she says.

"Do you still feel that way?"

"Hey, Dexter!" Batista taps on my window, scaring me a little. I start the engine and roll down my window. "There's blood inside, I know this is going to be a tough one for all of us, but I need you to take a look at it." I nod, and Batista acknowledges Deb. "Good to see you, Deb." She smiles and Batista turns to walk away.

"By the way, Harrison had an ear infection!" I yell at him.

I get out of the car, making sure to grab my forensics kit and laminate from the back seat. Deb comes up behind me, entwining her arm with mine.

"I'll get back to you on that," she whispers in my ear, and I smile at her.

"So this Brain Surgeon guy is still going at it...sucks donkey dicks for Quinn," Masuka says to Nikki, watching as Quinn is put in a body bag.

"Looks like it," Batista says, "I just wish it was anyone else...my sister was so broken up about it." I'm staring at the pool of blood Quinn left on the carpet. The universe sometimes does have a way of being in my favor. I no longer have to worry about Quinn getting in my way, or about his relentless pursue to bring Zach to justice. Quinn just wouldn't stop sticking his nose into people's business, and so he paid the price.

"I know," I say to Batista, "first her friend, Cassie, and now her boyfriend." Batista just stares at me. It was meant to be a simple agreement, but somehow it came out bad. Kind of like everything else I say.

"Well it looks as though we're going to have to re-open the Brain Surgeon investigation. The guy we got must have been a copy cat." _Duh_, I think, putting the supplies back in my forensics kit. But this isn't good. The last thing I need is Miami Metro going after Saxon. _He's mine._ It's a good thing Quinn was the only one who was onto him. Maybe I can kill him before everyone else catches on...and if I can get Vogel to agree.

Everyone starts to pack up, and I notice Batista stop to look at Quinn's lifeless body. He bends his head and crosses his heart, something I've never understood. A good person would feel bad about Quinn's dead, but just like LaGuerta's death, it solved my problems. I duck under the yellow tape and find Deb standing by my car. She looks horrified.

"Deb, what's wrong?" She looks up at me, and hands me her phone.

"This."

It's a video of Vogel. She's sitting in what looks like a dentist chair, strapped down. Her mouth is covered with duct tape, and you can clearly see the tears stinging her eyes. Suddenly Saxon shows up, and that's when the screen goes black.

"That's why she wasn't answering, because he's fucking got her! Dexter, we have to go after her." My phone vibrates and the same exact video appears.

"Why is he doing this?" I ask, and I follow Deb into the car.

I'm just hoping we haven't run out of time.


End file.
